upon a time

The phrase "upon a time" is part of the idiom "once upon a time," commonly used to start fairy tales and nostalgic stories.

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Definition

B2Storytelling

(archaic, literary)Used in the phrase 'once upon a time' to indicate a point in the past, often to start a fairy tale or nostalgic story.

Example

  • Once upon a time, there was a kingdom where dragons roamed freely.

Similar

Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "upon a time":

once upon a timelong agoat one timesome timeway back when